Crowds turn out for Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in Birmingham

HUGE crowds queued to see the first works of Leonardo da Vinci to ever go on show in Birmingham yesterday.

HUGE crowds queued to see the first works of Leonardo da Vinci to ever go on show in Birmingham on Friday.

Ten drawings by the Italian master, part of the Royal Collection, were unveiled at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

Museum bosses said the free exhibition was expected to attract more than 20,000 people during its run, until March 25.

UB40’s Brian Travers was in the queue of people who lined the museum’s corridors at the start of the collection’s national tour. The saxophonist, who once went to Moseley Road Art School, said: “I feel incredibly privileged to be here.

“When I was a little boy I tried to copy these drawings, you could see the lines and there was no trickery in there.

“Of course you were always disappointed when you looked at your own drawings compared to these.

“Getting this collection is fantastic, it’s a great coup for the city.

“The greatest thing about the exhibition is that it will draw people into the gallery to see other artists.

“Somebody could be inspired and some day become a great artist themselves.”

Pauline Ruocco, aged 70, was third in the queue to see the drawings. The retired nurse, from Selly Oak, said: “I’ve always loved Leonardo da Vinci. He was such a talented man – he seemed to see the future.”

Teacher Dee Darby, aged 41, from Stourbridge, said: “It’s just awesome to be looking at the originals and to be able to say we have done it.

“We never thought we’d get to see them unless we went over to Italy.”

Museum bosses say they have no idea how many people will want to see the exhibition, but they are expecting many thousands.

Entry will be on a first come, first served basis, as with the Staffordshire Hoard of gold and jewels.

When that opened at the museum on September 25, 2009, it attracted 7,500 visitors in the first two days and some 10,000 people had seen it by the end of the first weekend.

Martin Clayton, senior curator of the Royal Collection, said the drawings spanned all of da Vinci’s interests, from painting and sculpture to engineering, botany, mapmaking, hydraulics and anatomy.

He added: “They have been in the Royal Collection since the 1690s and are in wonderful condition.”